The quality of your close relationships in mid-life matters to your happiness and predicts your physical health as you age.

Being securely attached in a relationship into your 80s, one where you feel you can count on the other person in times of need, results in memories staying sharper longer.

Money doesn't buy happiness - its our securely attached relationships that create both health and happiness throughout our lives. Just like individuals, marriages and families have developmental stages that often create stressful transitional challenges. Roles and expectations change and conflicts often erupt, creating relational distress, resentment, hostility, isolation. One solution to building the intimate connections you desire is through understanding and changing your underlying negative stories and reactive patterns of engaging each other.
I work with couples at all stages who want to create or rediscover the positive power of an emotionally connected partnership.

Pre-marital couples - Identify and learn skills to start off right

Newly married couplles - Confront and solve relational issues early

Family formation - Make these major decisions together

Married with children -

Willing to work to reclaim your intimate connection

Put your marriage first as you balance competing time demands and conflicts

Balance demanding needs and responsibilities within available time and energy

Address money issues and financial challenges by getting on the same team and focusing on finding solutions

Identify and address family of origin issues and demands effecting your relationship

Learn how to enjoy and find pleasure with one another

We can discuss the use of on-line assessment tools, including the Prepare/Enrich assessment (pre-marital) and the Gottman Relationship Inventory at some point in our work together. These tools can help us zero in on your relational challenges to be addressed and your relational strengths to be celebrated and enhanced.

Individual challenges can contribute to relational distress, such as addictions, depression, anxiety, grief, trauma. Some issues are more effectively addressed in individual therapy. We will discuss assessments and recommendations in the process of our work together.

Commit to and practice positive, engaging ways of enhancing your relationship - in other words, learn how to connect, laugh and enjoy one another again.

Please don't wait to address your marital distress until its too late. Research shows that couples wait an average of 6 years to seek professional guidance for solving their marital distress. Now is the time to invest in what is truly important - your ability to create a strong and healthy relationship - for you, for your health, for your marriage, for your children, for the future.